Without A Trace

Fourty-Eight.

The next morning the girls and I are awake early. I quietly pack my suitcase and zip it up. I look up from my bag at the noise of Thomas's footsteps behind me. I turn around as he walks through our room with a surprised and irritated look on his face. The fire from the fireplace glows against his skin as he makes his way towards me, "The fuck are you packing for?" He asks as his arms rest at his side.

"I told you, the girls and I are leaving for a handful of days," I tell him before setting my bag on the ground, "Yesterday was Pips birthday, thats the only reason we didnt leave yesterday."

"You're not fuckin serious," he says scoffing at me, his eyes searching mine.

"As dead as Campbell Thomas," I say before tightening the corset around my waist and grabbing my holster.

Thomas snatches it from me, "You're not fuckin leaving Cora. None of you are. We were pretty fuckin clear in the meeting or are you fuckin daft?"

"Thomas Michael," I say growing angry, "Do not fight with me while everyone else is asleep. Its time for me to leave, so give me my fuckin holster and gun before I take one of yours. Unlike you, I paid for that with my own fuckin money," I say standing by our doorway.

"Funny thing about betrayal Cora," he says shoving my gun and holster into my body, staring his firey gaze into mine, "It never comes from your fuckin enemys."

I stare at him for a few moments before exiting our room and rushing down the hallway to the entry way with the girls.

Michael sits at the table, his face angry as he stares at his wife by the doorway. He shakes his head before meeting her eyes, "Dont come calling me when you're in a fuckin bind Ivy," he says coldly. Ivy clenches her jaw as she turns her back to him and fidgets with her fingers waiting for Anna and I. As Anna and I approach her, Ada makes her way over to us as well.

"Heres the key to the flat," Ada says handing Cora the key, "Its undisclosed, as requested," she says assuringly to the girls as myself.

Lewis makes his way out of the dark hallway and over to us. The light of the moon shines against him through the windows. His brow is furrowed as he walks up to his wife.

She ignores him as Lewis grabs her face and turns it to make her look at him, "You'll fuckin look at me while I speak to you," he says coldly. Anna can hear her heartbeat in her ears, her face also grows warm as she stares into her husbands dark eyes.

"You've crossed your fuckin boundary for the last time," he says staring down at his wife. "You want to bring work into home now? And make it everything? Again? Fine. So will I. So don't fuckin ask me to separate it again," he says before pushing her away from him.

Anna grabs her face where his hand was and stares at him, her breath slightly heavy as she moves back behind Ivy.

"Last I checked they didn't fuckin ask for your permission," Ada says peeling her gaze from us towards her brothers. "Just fuckin remember, this is all your doing," she says to her brothers before walking outside with us.

After the girls get in the car I turn to Ada, "Make sure they stay safe at least. I don't know when we'll be back, but be sure to phone us and keep us in the loop on things here, aye?" I say before glancing at my husband and back to her.

"They'll be alright, I'll be sure to phone you if something happens," She says with a slight smile, "You three need to do this. For yourselves," she says confidently. I nod and get in the car before driving away. The girls and I sit in silence as we watch the manor get smaller and smaller behind us.

"Where are we going Cora?" Anna asks before opening her flask.

I twirl the key in my fingers while watching the road, "Nottingham."